How safer sex can protect you from cancer

We all know that practising safe sex can protect us from sexually transmitted infections, diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

But did you know it could also play a role in protecting you from cancer?

Here we present the inspirational story of how one femail.co.uk reader is hoping to raise awareness of this issue after falling victim to a rare type of intimate cancer. Click on the link further down this page to read her full story.

There is now an increasing amount of evidence to show that some strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) - transmitted during sexual intercourse - are linked to certain types of cancer.

The HPV virus can cause a change in the skin cells which could then advance into cancerous cells. These cancerous cells can be treated if they are caught early enough. If not, they may lead to other forms of cancer that can spread throughout the body.

The major forms of cancer triggered by the HPV virus are bladder, anal, vaginal, cervical and vulval cancer. Most women will not have heard of these forms of the disease because they do not receive as much attention as other forms of 'female' cancer such as breast or cervical cancer.

In fact, cancer of the vulva - the outer area of a woman's sexual organs - is quite rare. Only 1,000 women are diagnosed with the condition in Britain each year - but it can leave sufferers physically and emotionally scarred for life.

Not all vulval cancers are caused by the HPV virus, some are the result of spontaneous changes in skin cells, but the effects are the same. Many women do not recognise the symptoms and have to undergo radical surgery to remove the cancerous tumours from the most intimate parts of their bodies.

This surgery often leaves them unwilling to have sexual intercourse ever again.

Now one woman is waging a campaign to make others more aware of the risks of the disease.

Carol Jones, a femail.co.uk reader and regular poster on our cancer message board, was diagnosed with vulval cancer 18 months ago. The suffering she went through has made her determined to try to prevent other women from enduring the same experience.

The mother-of-two from Manchester is now campaigning to raise awareness of safer sexual practices and educate women about their own bodies to cut the risk of contracting HPV.

Click on the links below to read Carol's inspiring story and to find out more about vulval cancer.